Greystone History

Untermyer Gardens History

In 1865, John Waring purchased 33 acres from the Bolmer estate and that same year brought architect John David Hatch to build a 99 room mansion called Greystone. Waring owned the largest hat factory in the world at the time but in the financial crisis of 1876, he suffered a reversal of fortune and had to sell his factory. He moved to Boston to start anew and offered his estate for rent.

In 1879, Samuel J. Tilden, a former governor and failed presidential candidate, rented Greystone from John Waring and bought it soon thereafter. Tilden was the first resident at Greystone to be actively interested in horticulture and during his time there built thirteen greenhouses - both for ornamental plants and for fruit and vegetables. Tilden died in 1886 leaving most of his large estate to fund the creation of public libraries for New York City as well as Yonkers and New Lebanon. ​

Samuel J. Untermyer, a prominent New York lawyer, purchased Greystone at auction from the estate of Samuel J. Tilden in 1899.

In 1916, Samuel Untermyer hired William Welles Bosworth, an Ecole des Beaux Arts trained architect and landscape designer, to create the "greatest gardens in the world." In the years following, Bosworth created the formal gardens of Greystone.

The Walled Garden was based on Indo-Persian paradise gardens and included many of their traditional elements: the use of waterways to divide the garden into four quadrants, massive gates, and surrounding walls anchored at their corners with octagonal towers. The Walled Gardens were appointed with Grecian influenced structures including an Ionic open air amphitheater intended for entertaining, a Corinthian temple and a Doric stoa, or porch. The Walled Garden is thought to contain the largest outdoor use of mosaic in America.

Leading west and downhill toward the Hudson River, the second feature of Bosworth's gardens is the Vista. Its inspiration was drawn from steps at the Villa D'Este which descend toward Lake Como in Italy. Originally, they were lined with an evergreen allee and had individual pavers set in turf instead of concrete bands. This feature is being gradually restored: the cryptomeria allee was replanted in 2015.

Paralleling the Vista to the north were the Color Gardens: six monochromatic color gardens each on its own terrace. These were rich with perennials in bedding schemes and adorned with statues and fountains. The only documentation of which colors were used comes from the 1930s when the gardens were mentioned in descending order as: pink, blue, red, white, yellow and, at the bottom, a delphinium garden. The photo to the right, taken in the 1920s, is of the stairs leading up from the lowest color garden. This garden is in ruins.

Connected to the Vista by rose and dahlia gardens with a twelve columned pergola, were the Italian Gardens. These vegetable gardens, adorned with cobalt blue tile rills, and espaliered trees were a favorite gathering place for the Untermyer family. This part of the property was sold and became part of the St. Johns Riverside Hospital. It was demolished during construction of the Malotz Skilled Nursing Pavilion.

The Temple of Love sits atop an entirely man made rock outcropping. The Greek style temple seen in the photograph to the right complemented other Greek style structures seen in other parts of the garden. The rocky folly had waterfalls that pooled below before descending to another small pool, three rock bridges and hundreds of small pockets where plants could grow. Later the original Greek Temple was replaced by a cast stone and wrought iron temple. The Temple of Love was restored in 2016 and there is water running again down its cascades. Plantings were begun in fall of 2016 and will continue in 2017.

The extensive Rock Garden bridged the area between the carriage trail and the Temple of Love. A small stream ran through it. Guests could wander through the rock garden on stone paths which meandered across the stream on rocky bridges. A small seating area with benches and a statue let visitors relax and view the extensive plantings. This garden is in ruin.

With an evergreen gnomon, Untermyer's floral sundial was reputed to tell time to the minute. Seasonal annuals were planted to keep the clock fresh. It was not part of Bosworth's original design but was added later. This garden has all but vanished.

The Gatehouse was built where the Greystone carriage trail crossed the Old Croton Aqueduct. The Croton Aqueduct, constructed to carry fresh water to New York City, ran 41 miles from Croton on Harmon into New York City and was in use in Untermyer's time. Now the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail runs 26.2 miles from Croton-on-Harmon to the Bronx. In 2016, repairs were made to the building to make it structurally sound.

Sixteen acres were conveyed by the Untermyer family to the City of Yonkers as a public park in 1946. Due to inadequate funding, the estate declined slowly over the years, but experienced a significant restoration in the 1970's under the leadership of architect James Piccone and Larry Martin under Mayor Angelo Martinelli. Unfortunately, this revival was short-lived, and the property again deteriorated, despite the best efforts of the City. In the mid-1990's, community leaders Nortrud Spero and Joe Kozlowski, working with the Open Space Institute, were able to persuade the City under Mayor Terence Zaleski to acquire more acreage to form the approximately 43 acres which constitute the park today.